Itou Kamotarou (伊東 鴨太郎, Itou Kamotarou) was an advisor to the Shinsengumi who appeared during the Shinsengumi Crisis arc as the main antagonist until his betrayal by Kawakami Bansai. He made an agreement with Takasugi Shinsuke and aimed to become the head of Shinsengumi.
Background[]
Itou was the younger of a pair of twin brothers. His older brother Takahisa was a sickly child, and Itou's mother blamed him for his older brother's condition as Itou was healthy. In response, Itou strived for excellence in everything in he did, yearning for recognition and acceptance that he did not receive from his family.
However, by excelling in both the literary and martial arts, he earned the nickname of 'gifted child' and the jealousy of people around him, and was ostracized even further as a result. He eventually grew up cynical towards human relations, hiding his own loneliness underneath a show of competence and strength.
Although in many years after he is sought by Kondo Isao to join him during his long journey in forming Shinsengumi with Kondo and his friends, Itou is treated by them as a normal person and a friend, and feels happy to considered them as a family to him, in which later during a Shinsengumi rebellion that Itou didn't realized it until he remembered his time with his Shinsengumi friends.
Appearance[]
Itou is a young man with pale skin, blond hair and light green eyes with gray glasses. He is almost always wearing the uniform of the Shinsengumi, and when not working he wears a gray, white and green hakama with red pants.
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Itou Kamotarou's Gallery  Itou in civilian clothes  Itou and Hijikata   Itou in his childhood |
Personality[]
Itou was an ambitious man, to the point of being treacherous. He was egotistical, yet insecure, and wanted people to recognize his talents, as well as for them to accept him as a friend. As he wanted everyone to recognize his talents, he aimed to become the head of Shinsengumi, and then, the man in charge of Edo. Everyone in Shinsengumi thought that he was very intelligent and called him Itou-sensei. However, Takasugi easily understood Itou's personality and managed to manipulate him. It seems his bonds to the Shinsengumi were stronger than anyone had thought, as he sacrificed himself and took hits from a machine-gun armed helicopter to save Kondou and Hijikata towards the end of the Shinsengumi Crisis Arc. According to Itou, Hijikata was the only man that understood him, and was saddened by this because the man who understood him the best was his biggest enemy.
Strength & Abilities[]
He was a skilled swordsman due to his prodigious talent.
Skills[]
Since childhood, he made every effort to be recognized by his family and get friends, it was expected of a prodigy in later grades to learn special skills in swordsmanship.
Relationships[]
Hijikata and Itou in Episode 101
- Hijikata Toushirou: He considered himself a rival to Vice-Commander who was widely acknowledged as the brains behind the Shinsengumi, and managed to get him suspended, although he later realized that his bonds with him and the rest of the Shinsengumi were stronger than his ambition, and he sacrificed himself and took hits from a machine-gun armed helicopter to save Hijikata and Kondou towards the end of the Shinsengumi Crisis Arc.
Story[]
Shinsengumi Crisis Arc[]
Hijikata vs. Itou in Episode 104
He was later revealed to be a traitor whose ambition of wanting to lead Shinsengumi was used by Takasugi Shinsuke to split them into opposing factions, thereby weakening them and making them easier to destroy. Unknown to Itou, he was merely used as a pawn by Takasugi in his broad plan to destabilize the world. Shinohara Shinnoshin was the spy aligned with Itou's camp, vs. Yamazaki Sagaru for Kondou's camp. Itou left Yamazaki to die in the hands of Kawakami Bansai after Yamazaki discovered his treacherous plot and was trying to alert the Vice-Commander Hijikata Toushirou.
As part of his plan to take-over Shinsengumi, he turned traitor and plotted to assassinate Commander Kondo Isao during the train trip back to Bushuu.Hijikata referred to him as repaying Kondo's kindness with evil in Episode 105.
Itou's plan was foiled by the remaining members of the Shinsengumi loyal to Kondou, and the Yorozuya, who got involved at the behest of Hijikata, aka Tosshi. After losing his left arm in the train crash orchestrated by Kiheitai during his duel with Hijikata on the train, he began to realize how important the bonds he formed in the Shinsengumi were to him and how foolish it was of him to try and betray his friends. He was allowed to die with honour in a final duel with Hijikata, and not as a traitor during the fracas between Shinsengumi and Kiheitai.
Trivia[]
- Based on Ito Kashitaro (伊東甲子太郎), formally known as Suzuki Okura before joining the Shinsengumi. He was highly educated and was admired by Kondo Isami. Rumor has it that Hijikata disliked Ito when he joined and became suspicious of his true motives for joining. While gaining the Shinsengumi's trust, Ito was secretly meeting with Satsuma clan members and had even made plans to assassinate Kondo. Ito was later assassinated by the Shinsengumi members. Ito also likely got his name from Serizawa Kamo (芹沢鴨) who was also a commander of the Shinsengumi.
- The manga author's choice of names for the 2 brothers is noteworthy. Itou Takahisa's name has the kanji character 'eagle' while Itou Kamotarou's name has the kanji character 'duck' in it. The almost antithetical connotations of the 2 birds are hard to miss.
Battles[]
| Fight | Outcome | Time it Occurred |
|---|---|---|
| Itou Kamotarou vs. Hijikata Toushiro (First Battle) | Interrupted | Episode 104 |
| Itou Kamotarou vs. Hijikata Toushiro (Second Battle) | Loss | Episode 105 |